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Discourse on Right View

This
is what I have heard. At one time the Lord was staying near Savatthi in the
Jeta Grove in Anathapindika's Park. At that time the Venerable Sariputta
addressed the bhikkhus.

"Friend,"
the bhikkhus respectfully replied.

The Venerable Sariputta said, "How does a noble
disciple practice Right View, a view that is upright? How does he or she obtain
unshakable Confidence in the Dharma? How can he or she arrive at the true
Dharma?"

"Friend
Sariputta, we have traveled along way to be in your presence and we are happy
to learn the meaning of these words. Please explain your statements, and after
we have heard your teachings, we will bear them in mind."

"Please
listen, friends, and give your full attention to what I say. Friends, when a
noble disciple understands the unwholesome and the roots of the unwholesome as
well as the wholesome and the roots of the wholesome, then that disciple has
Right View, a view that is upright. He or she is endowed

with unshakable confidence in the Dharma and has
arrived at the true Dharma. Friends, destroying life, taking what is not given,
and sexual misconduct are unwholesome. Lying, slandering, harsh words, and
frivolous conversation are unwholesome. Covetousness, ill-will, and wrong views
are unwholesome. The roots of the unwholesome are greed, hatred, and delusion.

"Abstaining
from destroying life, from taking what is not given, and from sexual
misconduct; abstaining from lying, slandering, harsh words, and frivolous conversation;
not coveting, not harboring ill-will, and practicing Right View are wholesome.
The roots of the wholesome are the absence of greed, hatred,

and delusion.

"When
a disciple understands the unwholesome and its roots and the wholesome and its
roots, he or she entirely transforms the tendency to greed, removes the
tendency toward hatred, and discontinues the tendency toward the 'Iam' view. He
or she transforms delusion, gives rise to understanding,

and right now in this very life puts an end to suffering."

"Well
said, friend, “the delighted bhikkhus spoke, and asked, "Is there yet
another teaching on how a disciple practices Right View?. . ."

"Friends,
when a noble disciple understands nourishment, the making of nourishment, the
cessation of nourishment, and the Path that leads to the cessation of
nourishment, that disciple practices Right View. Friends, there are four kinds
of nourishment that support beings who have already come to be and those who
are seeking a new existence. They are edible food, coarse or fine; the food of
sense impressions; the food of intention; and the food of consciousness.
Nourishment originates where greed originates, and nourishment ceases when
greed ceases. The Path that leads to the cessation of nourishment is the Noble
Eightfold Path. When a disciple understands this, he or she entirely transforms
these tendencies.

"Yet
another teaching on Right View is that when the noble disciple understands
suffering, the making of suffering, the cessation of suffering, and the Path leading
to the cessation of suffering, he or she has Right View. Birth, old age,
sickness, death, grief, lamentation, pain, discontent, and agitation are suffering.
Not to have what you want is suffering. In short, grasping the five skandhas is
suffering. The creation of suffering is the thirst to be born again, which is associated with a delight in and attachment to the
various pleasures found here and there. It is the thirst for the desire realm,
the realm of being, and the realm of nonbeing. The stopping of suffering is disappearance
of desire, the ending of ideas, the giving up of, letting go of, liberation
from, and refusal to dwell in the object of desire. The Path leading to the
cessation of suffering is the Noble Eightfold Path.

"Another
teaching on Right View is that when a noble disciple understands old age and
death, the making of old age and death, the cessation of old age and death, and
the Path leading to the cessation of old age and death, he or she has Right
View. Old age is the decrepitude of being in the various worlds of living
beings. It includes broken teeth, gray hair, wrinkled skin, the dwindling of the
life force, and the weakening of the sense organs. Death is the passing away of
living beings from the various worlds of living beings, their shifting to other
existences, their decomposition, disappearance, and death, the completion of
their time, the disunion of the skandhas and the laying down of the body. Old age
and death originate where birth originates. The cessation of birth is the
cessation of old age and death. The Path leading to the cessation of old age
and death is the Noble Eightfold Path.

"Another
teaching on Right View is that when a noble disciple understands birth, the
making of birth,. . . he or she has Right View. Birth is the arising of beings
in the various worlds of beings, their appearance, rebirth, manifestation of the
skandhas, and acquisition of sense organs and sense objects. Birth originates
where becoming originates. The cessation of becoming is the cessation of birth.
The Path leading to the cessation of birth is the Noble Eightfold Path.

"Another
teaching on Right View is that when a noble disciple understands becoming,. . .
he or she has Right View. There are three becomings: becoming in the world of
desire, becoming in the world of fine matter, and becoming in the nonmaterial
world. Becoming originates where grasping originates and ceases where grasping
ceases. . .

"Another
is that when a noble disciple understands grasping,. . . he or she has Right
View. There are four kinds of grasping: the grasping of sensual desire, views, rules
and rituals, and a belief in a separate self. Grasping originates where thirst
originates. Grasping ceases where thirst ceases, and the Noble Eightfold Path.
. .

"A
further teaching on Right View is that when a noble disciple understands
thirst,. . . he or she has Right View. There are six classes of thirst: thirst
for forms, sounds, smells, tastes, touch, and objects of mind. Thirst
originates where feelings originate and thirst ceases where feelings cease. . .

"A
further teaching on Right View is that when a noble disciple understands
feelings,. . . he or she has Right View. There are six classes of feelings: feelings
that arise from eye contact, ear contact, nose contact, tongue contact, body contact,
and mind contact. Feelings originate where contact originates and cease where contact
ceases. . .

"A
further teaching on Right View is that when a noble disciple understands
contact,. . . he or she has Right View. There are six classes of contact: eye contact,
ear contact,. . . Contact originates where the six sense organs and objects
originate. . ."

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